Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryuichi aka YAMA Yamamoto.
Hi Ryuichi aka YAMA, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was 6 or 7 and the biggest kid at school, so I started doing sumo at the high school. I trained for 6 years before my first match. I won a gold medal as a youth in the amateur sumo world championship, and again later as an adult. I didn’t join pro sumo until the age of 23, after I finished my degree at the university. I only joined because someone I knew was rising through the ranks and I was stronger than him, so I decided to try. Most sumos take ten years to get to the top, and it took me two years. After an injury and being accused of fixing matches, I left pro sumo. I was then recruited to be in Hollywood. I spent ten years on sets of movies, music videos, and YouTube. I worked with Keanu Reeves (John Wick 2), Ed Sheeran (Shape of you & Graffiti overpass), Airrack and Mr. Beast. I always had a sumo club I was coaching in Los Angeles, and that’s my true passion. After moving away from LA during the acting strike in 2023. I decided to refocus more on coaching. In 2023 my star pupil Kellyann Au Ball (Los Angeles) who is the four time womens heavyweight national champion won two bronze medals at the world sumo championship and silver at the world combat games – beating Japan!
This year I have been working closely with the youth national heavyweight Gabe Tolentino from Nashville(Antioch High school), who is in the only high school in America that has a sumo team, as of yet. I predict Gabe will return with a medal this September. My goals are to coach a world sumo champion and to bring my American team to the Olympics!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Sumo is hard, and being a sumo outside of your country is even harder. It’s not something that American audiences really understand outside of what they know from cartoons or the inflatable sumo suits. Many people don’t understand that it is the oldest sport on the planet, and there are traditions and ceremonies associated with sumo. They just think we are big unhealthy guys that hug and wear “man diapers”. They don’t understand that we train for hours on end, and almost get no days off.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the heaviest Japanese born sumo, I was 600 lbs at my heaviest in my professional sumo career. I am also the most filmed and experienced sumo that works in the entertainment industry. I’ve worked with large brands like Nike, Mitsubishi, Doritos, and Amazon. Most of my commercial work is done outside of the country. I am the highest level retired pro sumo residing in the United States.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Training with the high school sumo team when I was a small kid.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/yamasumo
